How to Get a Tattoo License – Louisiana

Registrations expire on December 31st of every year and must be renewed annually. There is no additional fee for renewed registrations.

Registration

To register as a Commercial Body Artist, you must provide the following to the Louisiana Department of Health:

On this Louisiana Department of Health form, you will be able to indicate whether you are an independent tattoo artist owner/operator, an operator (this requires a $100 fee), a manager (with a $200 fee) or an operator/manager ($300 fee).

Are you an operator, owner, or manager? According to the LDH Registration page, you can figure it out based on these designations:

"An operator is any person who performs commercial body art (tattooing, permanent makeup or cosmetics, or body piercing) on human subjects. 

“An owner is what it sounds like--the proprietor, president, or managing member, depending on the business organization of a commercial body art facility. 

“A manager is a person designated by the owner of a facility to run the day-to-day operations of a commercial body art facility. It is NOT required for a facility to have a manager, but note that if an owner chooses to specify an individual as a manager for the facility, managers fall under a different fee schedule from operators (see FEE SCHEDULES, below). Managers also do not have to be operators, and owners do not have to be operators either."

You will need to provide information about the tattoo facility and shop owners on this required paperwork, even if you are only applying for an individual license.

Here are the links to the documents you'll need as a tattoo artist applicant:

To become a tattoo artist, you will also need to provide a state-issued ID that has your name, your birth date, and an expiration date.

Several types of training are necessary to obtain an individual license as a tattoo artist or body piercing professional from the Department of Health.

You will need CPR, First Aid, and Bloodborne Pathogens Training.

You need to make sure these courses were taken within 30 days of application. If not, they will be considered invalid. All training cards must have clear expiration dates.

Bloodborne Pathogens Training

Of these, the Bloodborne Pathogens training can be completed online. However, you need to make sure you are taking a tattoo artist course that is verified by the Louisiana State Board of Health. Otherwise, the credits could be invalidated.

Bloodborne pathogens training for tattoo artists covers topics such as disease transmission, infection control procedures, and how to properly dispose of tattoo equipment.

The training also covers the tattoo artist's legal responsibilities under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations.

Find a list of registered courses for licensing here. 

CPR

In a typical CPR course, you will learn how to provide CPR to an adult, child, and infant. The activity takes place in a classroom setting with a mannequin. You will also learn how to use an automated external defibrillator (AED). Most importantly, you will learn when to provide CPR and when it is appropriate to call 911.

Many states have their own state statutes regarding the administration of CPR by tattoo artists. In some cases, a tattoo artist may be required to obtain consent from the client before beginning the procedure. However, in most cases, the tattoo artist is not required to obtain consent from the client before beginning CPR.

First Aid

This course will cover basic concepts in first aid and emergency care specifically related to the task of tattooing.

The shop owner or a designated body piercer/cosmetologist will be issued a certificate upon successful completion of the course.

Basic topics covered include: emergency care for shock, fainting, seizures, uncontrolled bleeding; wound dressing and bandaging; care for infection; safely transporting an injured person; and emergency numbers for paramedics/police/fire.

If your county has additional regulations for tattooing or permanent makeup, you can find them here. 

Requirements for Tattoo Licensed Facilities

If you are already a person performing tattoos and permanent makeup services and wish to open a facility engaging in these services to extend your professional reach, there are a few other things you need to know. 

In general, all tattoo shops should have a permit from the Louisiana Department of Health. However, no individual license is required.

This regulation does not cover activities that are defined as medical procedures by a state medical board. Commercial body art (CBA) facilities are prohibited from engaging in medical procedures.

Prepare for a Tattooing Career with the Artist Accelerator Program

Learning the steps you need to take to get licensed is an important step in your journey, but it can also be pretty eye-opening to how difficult tattooing can be. Without the right knowledge, it’s impossible to level up your skills and become a professional tattoo artist. 

However, finding the straight-forward information you need to progress is difficult. And with so much out there online, it’s hard to avoid picking up bad habits from incorrect and outdated resources.

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